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Dining
Services offers more locally grown food
Smith College students
are finding an increasing abundance of locally grown food
on campus menus this fall. As a new member of the "Be a Local Hero Buy Locally Grown" campaign,
run by Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA),
Dining Services has increased the amount of locally grown
food it purchases from area farmers.
“Smith College made a significant commitment to expanding
their offerings from area farms when they joined our Local
Hero campaign,” says Kelly Coleman, who oversees CISA’s
Farm Sales to Institutions program, which connects hospitals,
schools, and workplaces to area farmers.
“When large institutions like Smith buy locally grown,
they open up significant new markets for our farmers. They
also send a message to other institutions in the community
that buying locally grown foods is not only possible, but
preferable.”
Ann Finley, area manager for Dining Services, says the
increase in locally grown food has been a hit with students
and parents. “Of
course, the students love the food because the flavor of
fresh local food is unparalleled. But they also like that
their college is helping to keep area farms in business,” says
Finley. “They really respond when they see the Local
Hero signage.”
Now, when Smith students dine at the Campus Center Café or
the Smith College Club, they can choose from a long list
of fresh fruits and vegetables - including Swiss chard, kale,
green beans, corn or tomatoes - from Outlook Farm in Westhampton
and Czajkowski Farm in Hadley. Smith has also been purchasing
locally produced milk from High Lawn Farm in Lee. The complete
list of locally grown offerings at is updated weekly.
“The nice thing is that it’s been relatively
easy to buy more of our foods from local farmers,” says
Finley. “And it turns out to be cost-effective way
for us to buy.”
After three years in operation, CISA’s Farm Sales
to Institutions Program has resulted in hundreds of thousands
of dollars staying in the local economy, according to Coleman.
Smith College is the third
local college, along with the University of Massachusetts
at Amherst and Amherst College, to join CISA’s "Local Hero" campaign.
Other institutional members include Cooley Dickinson Hospital,
Baystate Health System, Lathrop Retirement Communities and
Northfield Mount Hermon School.
CISA is a community organization comprised of farmers,
consumers, and concerned citizens working together to sustain
agriculture. CISA’s program is supported by several
Rural Business Enterprise grants from the US Department
of Agriculture as well as by donations from individuals.
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